The invention relates to a device for processing electromagnetic waves in the microwave region with a body provided with a circuit element which is electrically connected to a strip-type transmission line which comprises conductor tracks, said body being mechanically connected to an insulating substrate via contact bodies.
An active switching element, such as a transistor or diode, is combined with a passive component, i.e. a strip-type transmission line, in the device. The device is particularly designed for frequencies in the microwave range, i.e. frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. A strip-type transmission line is here understood to comprise two conductor tracks running in parallel and mutually separated by an insulating dielectric. The conductor tracks in the transmission line have a length which is at least a few percents of the wavelength of the highest electromagnetic wave to be used in the device. The conductor tracks may be symmetrical (stripline) as well as asymmetrical (microstrip). More details on transmission lines can be found in P. A. Rizzi: "Microwave Engineering: Passive Circuits", Prentice Hall International Inc., 1988, Ch. 5.3 strip-type transmission lines, p. 190 and L. N. Dworsky: "Modern Transmission Line Theory and Applications", John Wiley & Sons, 1979, Ch 1.1: The Transmission Line: A Definition, p. 1.
A device of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph is known from European Patent Application no. 592002. The known device comprises a semiconductor body provided with conductor tracks and active circuit elements such as transistors or diodes. The conductor tracks on the semiconductor body are connected to conductor tracks on a first surface of an insulating, plate-shaped substrate facing the semiconductor body by means of conductive contact bodies or "bumps". The conductor tracks on this first surface are connected to conductor tracks on a second surface of the insulating substrate facing away from the semiconductor body by means of lead-throughs extending from the first surface to the second surface, the so-called vias. The conductor tracks on this second surface form passive elements such as transmission lines. The active circuit elements are accordingly connected to transmission lines on the second surface of the insulated substrate.
The known device described has the disadvantage that lead-throughs (vias) through the insulating substrate are necessary for connecting the transmission lines to a circuit element in the semiconductor body.